DATE=2/17/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAN ELECTIONS (L)
NUMBER=2-259272
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Voters in Iran are preparing to go to the
polls Friday to choose a new parliament. V-O-A
Correspondent Scott Bobb in Tehran reports that most
candidates are running as independents, but many of
them have affiliated with coalitions. And as a
result, the election is shaping up as a contest
between reformists and conservatives.
TEXT: As election officials prepare to open polling
stations across Iran, leaders of both the reformist
and conservative alliances are predicting victory.
The leader of the reformist Participation Front and
the president's brother, Mohammad Reza Khatami, called
the campaign a victory for the people.
/// KHATAMI ACT ///
Whatever the result will be, many things that we
want happened. And the result of the election
will be in favor of the reformers in Iran.
/// END ACT ///
Candidate Khatami said the reform movement is
advancing steadily, and he predicted 60-percent of the
parliamentary seats will go to reformists and their
allies.
However, leaders of the main conservative alliance,
called the Followers of the Line of the Imam,
predicted they will control the next parliament.
Spokesman Hassan Ghafourifad said the conservatives
and their allies expect to win a majority.
/// GHAFOURIFAD ACT - IN FARSI - FADE UNDER ///
Doctor Ghafourifad said he believes in voter loyalty
to Iran's supreme leader and as a result the group
will have a majority, like in the two previous
parliaments.
Both the conservatives and the reformists include
centrist candidates in their calculations. Iranian
observers say this indicates that the centrist
coalition led by the Construction Party is likely to
wield considerable influence in the next parliament
and could become the main power broker.
/// REST OPT ///
Many Iranians see signs in this election that a multi-
party political system may be emerging. Parties were
banned following the revolution, but in recent years a
score of political groups have emerged and some have
been registered as parties.
The editor-in-chief of the reformist Asr-e Azadegan
newspaper, Hamidreza Jalei-pour, says many groups have
joined forces in opposition to the conservative status
quo, but this he says may change.
/// JALEI-POUR ACT ///
Little by little, we will have in the future
three poles of the political party(ies), left,
right, and center.
/// END ACT ///
Iranians say in past elections, the political leanings
of many politicians and their groups often were not
clearly defined, leading to voter confusion. And they
say the similarity of the discourse of the candidates
gave few alternatives and led to voter apathy.
However, they say this election has been different.
Although the outcome is still not certain, they say
the process has certainly evolved. (Signed)
NEB/SB/JWH/LTD/gm
17-Feb-2000 12:18 PM EDT (17-Feb-2000 1718 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.